From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Received: from lists.gentoo.org ([140.105.134.102] helo=robin.gentoo.org) by nuthatch.gentoo.org with esmtp (Exim 4.62) (envelope-from ) id 1IBgjM-0006cc-8W for garchives@archives.gentoo.org; Fri, 20 Jul 2007 00:52:28 +0000 Received: from robin.gentoo.org (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by robin.gentoo.org (8.14.0/8.14.0) with SMTP id l6K0qNnV006745; Fri, 20 Jul 2007 00:52:23 GMT Received: from py-out-1112.google.com (py-out-1112.google.com [64.233.166.176]) by robin.gentoo.org (8.14.0/8.14.0) with ESMTP id l6K0qMHc006740 for ; Fri, 20 Jul 2007 00:52:23 GMT Received: by py-out-1112.google.com with SMTP id d32so1615779pye for ; Thu, 19 Jul 2007 17:52:22 -0700 (PDT) DKIM-Signature: a=rsa-sha1; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=gmail.com; s=beta; h=domainkey-signature:received:received:message-id:date:from:user-agent:mime-version:to:subject:references:in-reply-to:x-enigmail-version:content-type:content-transfer-encoding; b=h5VahX4BrqmeFry8qThaON3nQ9unXKGBaPXisgQGX9f5L+AKR236UjipqsAMIG5vi4OOww/M2zdto+KEKvd12V4+ORwCVWEnZnQjGFJTkzvwZ5gew8tpUVugdH7AGlFFD9wmSkLZ3NMc2qsmzfrQa7cKQqISDOEnd3dx2gHIqLQ= DomainKey-Signature: a=rsa-sha1; c=nofws; d=gmail.com; s=beta; h=received:message-id:date:from:user-agent:mime-version:to:subject:references:in-reply-to:x-enigmail-version:content-type:content-transfer-encoding; b=hgzUtupnCJuOlK5ddqkLHX9lDrLPBUdrnYbJ8mM0JM9mTcfTyqR8updhLsUI2Q2/IUgB/OyxxHWh237SE2PGvMb3zVsD/QxNT3LEkAkKBT2FIPI891oVw7v6XHGgSncYPmULBy4mjMIkjJgiJ9A+R2gPRRzObEgrXZta3O7Z/I4= Received: by 10.35.91.1 with SMTP id t1mr3939450pyl.1184892742594; Thu, 19 Jul 2007 17:52:22 -0700 (PDT) Received: from ?192.168.10.50? ( [24.13.148.4]) by mx.google.com with ESMTPS id x48sm2656689pyg.2007.07.19.17.52.21 (version=TLSv1/SSLv3 cipher=RC4-MD5); Thu, 19 Jul 2007 17:52:21 -0700 (PDT) Message-ID: <46A00689.4070107@gmail.com> Date: Thu, 19 Jul 2007 19:49:13 -0500 From: lnxg33k User-Agent: Thunderbird 2.0.0.4 (X11/20070710) Precedence: bulk List-Post: List-Help: List-Unsubscribe: List-Subscribe: List-Id: Gentoo Project discussion list X-BeenThere: gentoo-project@gentoo.org MIME-Version: 1.0 To: gentoo-project@lists.gentoo.org Subject: Re: [gentoo-project] Improving developer/user communication References: <469FF6E3.70308@gmail.com> In-Reply-To: <469FF6E3.70308@gmail.com> X-Enigmail-Version: 0.95.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Archives-Salt: b0eda63e-d77d-420b-9869-41d50768f720 X-Archives-Hash: 0c0398f0837f649e1d570c7c941acba8 George Prowse wrote: > Well, i'm not sure if this list is working because I have not yet > recieved any emails from it but... It works, but no traffic to speak of yet. > What ideas do people have for improving relations? As for user's getting help, I've never had any problems between IRC, MLs, bugzilla, and the forums. The problem is, not everyone knows how or wants to experience all of those mediums. As for actual dev/user communication, I find it rather difficult to discuss topics with a developer due to protocol issues. For example, bugzilla is great for getting involved in the gentoo project and getting direct feedback from a dev. However, there is no real documentation giving background information on how one should conduct themselves on bugzilla; therefore, I never feel overly comfortable contributing there and feel a bit offset when a "WONTFIX" shows up (getting over this as I have learned why/when this might be used). I know others have felt the same way. Forums take a while for people to get in the "proper" mindset and the same goes for MLs although they are documented rather will (old netiquette articles). IRC ... is well, IRC and is another story all together. The point being, the average user doesn't have good access to the devs simply due to their lack of competency (I don't mean this in a negative way) for a specific communication medium. I don't know what all the above implies, but to say that I've never had a significant issue getting help from a dev and that I'm not an average user. There probably isn't anything the gentoo community can do other than be tolerant of improper attempts at getting help and try to point them in the right direction (which, I believe, happens already for the most part). Note that asking for help is only a small part of communication and I can't speak for that however I assume that the same would apply. As for documentation regarding users joining the gentoo project beyond that of a user role (ie: ATs, developers through quizes) ... the documentation could use a lot of work with regards to clarity and organization. This isn't active communication between a user and dev, but this information helps to inform users of the process that goes on behind the curtain and therefore gives a better understanding of how to conduct themselves and pose questions. This is a bit beyond what was originally asked, but I think it's still an important aspect of dev/user communication even if it is passive. Hopefully the above was on topic and somewhat clear. -- gentoo-project@gentoo.org mailing list